1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method and apparatus for displaying images on doors.
2. Prior Art
It is known to apply decorative covers, signs, or various displays to buildings, especially at the entrance or doors of buildings, for example, to display advertising or announcements, or to provide decorations for various festive occasions. On residential homes, as well as on commercial buildings, doors, especially large doors, such as garage doors, provide a space that may be useful for such purposes. Typically, decorations, displays, or signs are placed on such doors in a manner that requires a more or less permanent change in the appearance or the integrity of the door. For example, signs or other decorations may be applied to a door by painting, or attaching, such as with screws, nails or the like. Generally, when a sign or decoration is applied to a door by such methods, it cannot be conveniently removed or changed without adverse effect on the appearance or integrity of the door. A still further problem is encountered when it is desired to use the large space on a garage door for decorative purposes since most garage doors are of sectional construction. That is, they are commonly constructed in horizontal segments, hingedly attached to each other and movably fastened by means of rollers to vertical tracks on each side. Because such doors are designed to bend or flex during opening or closing, difficulty is encountered in removably attaching a cover, such as a sign or decorative display, to the outer surface of the door in a manner that will allow the cover to bend or flex with the segmented door during opening or closing.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,452,074 to Evens, discloses a segmented sign that moves vertically with individual sections or letters of the sign having attachments that are held in place between the segments
U.S. Pat. No. 2,153,924 to Haines discloses an aerial sign construction designed with individual sections being detachable and interchangeable. The individual sections, such as letter displays, are attached between two horizontal flexible parallel lines.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,649,390 and 5,839,237 to Davidson disclose decorative cover for garage doors wherein the cover is draped around the front of the garage door and the top and bottom of the cover are wrapped around and joined at the back side of the door.
It is an object of this invention to provide a method and apparatus for displaying images on doors.
It is a further object to provide a method and apparatus for displaying images on sectional overhead doors that will allow the door to be opened and closed while the displayed images remain in place on the door.
It is a still further object to provide a method and apparatus for decorating a door wherein a decoration may be conveniently attached and removed and or changed without affecting the integrity of the door.
The present invention provides a method and apparatus for displaying images on doors, whereby a lattice of interconnected horizontal and vertical members is removably attached to a door or door panel. At least one set of the lattice members, either the horizontal or vertical members, is looped around the door or panel and joined on the inside of the door or panel to form a complete loop. The members of the other set are held by removable attachment to the looped members on the outer face of the door, forming a rectangular lattice structure or grid thereon. It is preferred, especially for use on sectional overhead doors, to form a lattice wherein the vertical members are looped around the door or door panel and the horizontal members are held by removable attachment to the vertical members. The interconnection of the horizontal and vertical members imparts a rigidity and stability to the lattice structure and provides sites for attachment of image-creating or decorative items, such as signs, panels, posters, lighting arrangements, and the like. Since the looped members loop around the door and connect on the inner side of the door to form a complete loop, they are formed of a flexible material, thin and flexible enough to pass around the door or door panel without interfering with the opening and closing of the door. The looped members may be designed so that the portion of a looped member that is situated on the outer face of the door is more or less rigid and may be thicker, while the portion of the member that crosses the top and bottom or sides of the door or door panel is flexible and sufficiently thin that it will not interfere with the opening and closing of the door. Various materials that may be used in the fabrication of the looped members include wire, cloth, plastic, and the like, preferably in the form of a strap, belt or the like. The preferred material is a plastic, such as polyethylene, polypropylene, or most preferably, polyvinyl chloride, in the form of a strap, preferably one to three inches in width. The looped member may be secured to itself on the inner side of the door panel by various attachment means such as, buckles, buttons, snaps, pins, knots, hook and loop fasteners, and the like that may be conveniently fastened and unfastened. In one embodiment, all or a portion of each looped member may be of an elastic material to aid in maintaining a tight loop around the door panel. In a preferred embodiment, the looped members may be formed as a combination of two materials: a relatively rigid material, such as rigid polyvinyl choride, on the outer face of the panel and a relatively flexible material, such as polypropylene belting, on the portion passing between door panels and extending to the inner face of the panel where the two ends of the belting may be fastened by means of a buckle to form a complete loop.
The spacing and number of looped members may vary depending on the dimensions of the door panel and the degree of rigidity desired in the final structure. Typically for a vertical door of about 32-36 inches in width, two or three vertical looped members will suffice. For a horizontal panel of a one or two car sectional garage door, three to six vertical looped members may be sufficient.
The non-looped horizontal members are preferably rigid or semi-rigid and may be made, for example, of wood, metal, plastic or the like and may be attached to the looped vertical members, preferably in a removable manner, by means of clips, pins, buttons, snaps, hook and loop fasteners, split pin connectors, or the like to form a removable framework on the outer face of a door suitable for fastening a display thereon. The width (vertical dimension) of the horizontal member may vary considerably depending on the display to be created and may range, for example from an inch or less to form a lattice, or to the height of the door panel to forma complete covering of the panel. In the latter case, the complete covering may be a decorative cover, bearing letters, designs, pictures or the like.
A lattice structure, formed on a door panel in accordance with the present invention, may be fitted with fastening devices to attach image creating or decorative items, such as signs, posters, lighting or the like. The items may be removably attached with the use of split pins, adhesive, magnets, buttons, snaps, hook and loop fasteners, etc. In a preferred embodiment, the lattice structure of the present invention may be used to hold a lighting display using one or more strings of xe2x80x9cChristmas Treexe2x80x9d lights.